online vs face to face clubs (from comment: are you looking for a F2F or online club)?

Norm C Blizard on

Hello Bivio Cafe. I would like to start a thread on online vs face to face clubs. We have a small (<20) member club of seniors. We meet monthly in a senior center. The club is not limited to seniors but is limited to members of the senior center. At our last meeting we discussed how to grow the club membership. There are some potential members who are snowbirds (we are based in Indiana) and fly south for the winter (4-6 months). Our club bylaws require attendance at F2F meetings and absence for 3 or more is considered a voluntary quit of the club unless there are extenuating circumstances such as illness.

My questions to the forum are:

Do you include snowbirds in your memberships or are there attendance requirements which would preclude them?
Are there ways to include them such as voting in abstentia or by mail or email or teleconference?
Are there pros and cons to teleconferencing, skyping, gotomeeting or other virtual ways to conduct the meetings
As a count, are there more F2F clubs vs. virtual (at a distance) clubs?
Any other relevant questions we need to consider such as tax law, SEC rules, state partnership rules, etc?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Norm Blizard

Sr Partner

SCS Investment Club of Columbus IN

Kevin Gillogly on

Norm,

I am in a very small club of 4 members. We meet 8 times a year via telephone conference. During the summer months we can meet at a local library (we meet on the 3rd Friday).

We use UberConference for our online meetings. They are free. Now with 20 or more members you might not be able to UberConference.

It may take some time getting everyone used to phone conferences. But it is worth a try. UberConference allows one person to share their screen so everyone else can see it. That is great for looking at SSGs and Educational programs.

I would recommend that all members get a pair of headphones with a microphone attached to them. I got one at Best Buy for $49. I like the over the ear headphones to block out noise. Also the microphone built into the headphone allows for a much clearer sound.

Try it with everyone in person. So you can have in person help. Then try it at a meeting.

Kevin Gillogly

On Wed, Nov 13, 2019, 4:37 PM Norm C Blizard via bivio.com <user*36041900001@bivio.com> wrote:

Hello Bivio Cafe. I would like to start a thread on online vs face to face clubs. We have a small (<20) member club of seniors. We meet monthly in a senior center. The club is not limited to seniors but is limited to members of the senior center. At our last meeting we discussed how to grow the club membership. There are some potential members who are snowbirds (we are based in Indiana) and fly south for the winter (4-6 months). Our club bylaws require attendance at F2F meetings and absence for 3 or more is considered a voluntary quit of the club unless there are extenuating circumstances such as illness.

My questions to the forum are:
Do you include snowbirds in your memberships or are there attendance requirements which would preclude them?
Are there ways to include them such as voting in abstentia or by mail or email or teleconference?
Are there pros and cons to teleconferencing, skyping, gotomeeting or other virtual ways to conduct the meetings
As a count, are there more F2F clubs vs. virtual (at a distance) clubs?
Any other relevant questions we need to consider such as tax law, SEC rules, state partnership rules, etc?

Thanks in advance for your comments.
Norm Blizard
Sr Partner
SCS Investment Club of Columbus IN

nblizard on

Hi Kevin. These are great ideas and exactly the feedback I was seeking. Thank You!

From: club_cafe@bivio.com <club_cafe@bivio.com> On Behalf Of Kevin Gillogly via bivio.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2019 5:05 PM
To: club_cafe@bivio.com
Subject: Re: [club_cafe] RE: online vs face to face clubs (from comment: are you looking for a F2F or online club)?

Norm,

I am in a very small club of 4 members. We meet 8 times a year via telephone conference. During the summer months we can meet at a local library (we meet on the 3rd Friday).

We use UberConference for our online meetings. They are free. Now with 20 or more members you might not be able to UberConference.

It may take some time getting everyone used to phone conferences. But it is worth a try. UberConference allows one person to share their screen so everyone else can see it. That is great for looking at SSGs and Educational programs.

I would recommend that all members get a pair of headphones with a microphone attached to them. I got one at Best Buy for $49. I like the over the ear headphones to block out noise. Also the microphone built into the headphone allows for a much clearer sound.

Try it with everyone in person. So you can have in person help. Then try it at a meeting.

Kevin Gillogly

On Wed, Nov 13, 2019, 4:37 PM Norm C Blizard via bivio.com <user*36041900001@bivio.com> wrote:

Hello Bivio Cafe. I would like to start a thread on online vs face to face clubs. We have a small (<20) member club of seniors. We meet monthly in a senior center. The club is not limited to seniors but is limited to members of the senior center. At our last meeting we discussed how to grow the club membership. There are some potential members who are snowbirds (we are based in Indiana) and fly south for the winter (4-6 months). Our club bylaws require attendance at F2F meetings and absence for 3 or more is considered a voluntary quit of the club unless there are extenuating circumstances such as illness.

My questions to the forum are:
Do you include snowbirds in your memberships or are there attendance requirements which would preclude them?
Are there ways to include them such as voting in abstentia or by mail or email or teleconference?
Are there pros and cons to teleconferencing, skyping, gotomeeting or other virtual ways to conduct the meetings
As a count, are there more F2F clubs vs. virtual (at a distance) clubs?
Any other relevant questions we need to consider such as tax law, SEC rules, state partnership rules, etc?

Thanks in advance for your comments.
Norm Blizard
Sr Partner
SCS Investment Club of Columbus IN

Larry Reno on

Norma,

Our Georgia Chapter has two model clubs that meet in person and on line. We don't have snow birds but we do have members in other locations. We have a member who moved from Atlanta to South Florida, another member in Chattanooga and one in North Mississippi near Memphis. We have about 20 members and even some in Atlanta will attend on-line occasionally to include myself. We use the Chapter's Go2Meeting licenses. I will be honest with you, it is better in person than on line. I am sure we have more F2F clubs vs. on-line. I have also attended the Alabama/Emerald Coast Model Club on line and had no problem. One thing you need for sure is a good quality multidirectional microphone, long cable and someone to move the microphone to the person speaking or have them go to the microphone. People on line MUST have a good set of headphones with the ability to mute themselves. We have been meeting for about 6 years with both online and in person and it has worked well for us. The partnership rules and taxes have not been an issue so far. And if these are Indiana residents going to Florida the partnership and taxes should not be an issue. BTW, I have an RV and we spend three months in Florida each year. While my wife and I do not consider ourselves "snowbirds", we tell our yankee friends we are "frost birds."

I hope I answered your questions.

Larry Reno

President

Georgia Chapter of BetterInvesting

6th Annual Investors Fair

29 August 2020, Save the Date

-----Original Message-----
From: Norm C Blizard via bivio.com <user*36041900001@bivio.com>
To: club_cafe <club_cafe@bivio.com>
Sent: Wed, Nov 13, 2019 4:37 pm
Subject: [club_cafe] RE: online vs face to face clubs (from comment: are you looking for a F2F or online club)?

Hello Bivio Cafe. I would like to start a thread on online vs face to face clubs. We have a small (<20) member club of seniors. We meet monthly in a senior center. The club is not limited to seniors but is limited to members of the senior center. At our last meeting we discussed how to grow the club membership. There are some potential members who are snowbirds (we are based in Indiana) and fly south for the winter (4-6 months). Our club bylaws require attendance at F2F meetings and absence for 3 or more is considered a voluntary quit of the club unless there are extenuating circumstances such as illness.

My questions to the forum are:

Do you include snowbirds in your memberships or are there attendance requirements which would preclude them?
Are there ways to include them such as voting in abstentia or by mail or email or teleconference?
Are there pros and cons to teleconferencing, skyping, gotomeeting or other virtual ways to conduct the meetings
As a count, are there more F2F clubs vs. virtual (at a distance) clubs?
Any other relevant questions we need to consider such as tax law, SEC rules, state partnership rules, etc?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Norm Blizard

Sr Partner

SCS Investment Club of Columbus IN

nblizard on

Thanks for the response Larry, very helpful hints.

From: club_cafe@bivio.com <club_cafe@bivio.com> On Behalf Of Larry Reno via bivio.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2019 6:47 PM
To: club_cafe@bivio.com
Subject: Re: [club_cafe] RE: online vs face to face clubs (from comment: are you looking for a F2F or online club)?

Norma,

Our Georgia Chapter has two model clubs that meet in person and on line. We don't have snow birds but we do have members in other locations. We have a member who moved from Atlanta to South Florida, another member in Chattanooga and one in North Mississippi near Memphis. We have about 20 members and even some in Atlanta will attend on-line occasionally to include myself. We use the Chapter's Go2Meeting licenses. I will be honest with you, it is better in person than on line. I am sure we have more F2F clubs vs. on-line. I have also attended the Alabama/Emerald Coast Model Club on line and had no problem. One thing you need for sure is a good quality multidirectional microphone, long cable and someone to move the microphone to the person speaking or have them go to the microphone. People on line MUST have a good set of headphones with the ability to mute themselves. We have been meeting for about 6 years with both online and in person and it has worked well for us. The partnership rules and taxes have not been an issue so far. And if these are Indiana residents going to Florida the partnership and taxes should not be an issue. BTW, I have an RV and we spend three months in Florida each year. While my wife and I do not consider ourselves "snowbirds", we tell our yankee friends we are "frost birds." I hope I answered your questions.

Larry Reno

President

Georgia Chapter of BetterInvesting

6th Annual Investors Fair

29 August 2020, Save the Date

-----Original Message-----
From: Norm C Blizard via bivio.com <user*36041900001@bivio.com>
To: club_cafe <club_cafe@bivio.com>
Sent: Wed, Nov 13, 2019 4:37 pm
Subject: [club_cafe] RE: online vs face to face clubs (from comment: are you looking for a F2F or online club)?

Hello Bivio Cafe. I would like to start a thread on online vs face to face clubs. We have a small (<20) member club of seniors. We meet monthly in a senior center. The club is not limited to seniors but is limited to members of the senior center. At our last meeting we discussed how to grow the club membership. There are some potential members who are snowbirds (we are based in Indiana) and fly south for the winter (4-6 months). Our club bylaws require attendance at F2F meetings and absence for 3 or more is considered a voluntary quit of the club unless there are extenuating circumstances such as illness.

My questions to the forum are:

Do you include snowbirds in your memberships or are there attendance requirements which would preclude them?
Are there ways to include them such as voting in abstentia or by mail or email or teleconference?
Are there pros and cons to teleconferencing, skyping, gotomeeting or other virtual ways to conduct the meetings
As a count, are there more F2F clubs vs. virtual (at a distance) clubs?
Any other relevant questions we need to consider such as tax law, SEC rules, state partnership rules, etc?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Norm Blizard

Sr Partner

SCS Investment Club of Columbus IN

Lynn Treffry on

Hi Norm,

Here's my two cents worth. I belong to two 'model' investment clubs. One club I belong to is the Inland Empire Chapter's Model Investment Club. This club's members are all from the Spokane, WA area and meets in-person monthly. We do use Go To Meeting (G2M) to broadcast our club to anybody that might want to attend or observe, regardless of where they are.

On occasion when we've had really bad winter weather we've met online just to keep people off the road. This option can be used if someone is unable, for whatever reason, to attend in person.

The second club I belong to is the Puget Sound Chapter Model Investment Club (PSCMIC). This club holds its monthly meetings online using G2M. We do try to have one in-person meeting a year just to connect/reconnect voices with faces.

(Question a) PSCMIC members/partners are located all over Washington State and are all WA State residents. Some of them go south for part of the winter.

(Question b) Whether in-person or online, G2M, voice votes can be taken. If a secret ballot is required a different solution might be required.

(Question c) The main 'con' I can see with using a teleconferencing (TC) program is that you need more than one person familiar with the program used and how to make it work. A second con would be providing good audio when using the TC program to broadcast an in-person meeting. There are solutions to this but you may have to work at it.

(Question d) I can't offer any information on this question. I just don't have a clue.

(Question e) The biggest issue I've run across is that if you have members from more than one state you can be required to file state tax returns in all states in which members reside. This can get pretty cumbersome. You'd need to check with your club/partnership accounting provider. bivio in this case.

Hope this answers some of your questions and gets the 'thread' you're looking for started.

Take Care,

Lynn

LFTreffry@msn.com

From: club_cafe@bivio.com <club_cafe@bivio.com> On Behalf Of Norm C Blizard via bivio.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2019 1:37 PM
To: club_cafe@bivio.com
Subject: [club_cafe] RE: online vs face to face clubs (from comment: are you looking for a F2F or online club)?

Hello Bivio Cafe. I would like to start a thread on online vs face to face clubs. We have a small (<20) member club of seniors. We meet monthly in a senior center. The club is not limited to seniors but is limited to members of the senior center. At our last meeting we discussed how to grow the club membership. There are some potential members who are snowbirds (we are based in Indiana) and fly south for the winter (4-6 months). Our club bylaws require attendance at F2F meetings and absence for 3 or more is considered a voluntary quit of the club unless there are extenuating circumstances such as illness.

My questions to the forum are:

Do you include snowbirds in your memberships or are there attendance requirements which would preclude them?
Are there ways to include them such as voting in abstentia or by mail or email or teleconference?
Are there pros and cons to teleconferencing, skyping, gotomeeting or other virtual ways to conduct the meetings
As a count, are there more F2F clubs vs. virtual (at a distance) clubs?
Any other relevant questions we need to consider such as tax law, SEC rules, state partnership rules, etc?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Norm Blizard

Sr Partner

SCS Investment Club of Columbus IN

Norm C Blizard on

Thanks, Lynn and all cafe participants, this is wonderful feedback. I will consolidate it and report it to my partners in early December. One concern I have is that most of our partners are seniors and some are not so computer capable so that G2M virtual meetings may be impractical. Worth a try. But all should be able to call into a teleconference. BTW I snailmail the minutes and meeting agenda to them earlier than the meeting so they can at least follow along by phone.

Norm

From: club_cafe@bivio.com <club_cafe@bivio.com> On Behalf Of Lynn Treffry via bivio.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2019 10:57 PM
To: club_cafe@bivio.com
Subject: RE: [club_cafe] RE: online vs face to face clubs (from comment: are you looking for a F2F or online club)?